A while back I had a client call me to tell me her mothers reaction to one of our videos. Her story gave me chills. I had created a video for her father’s memorial. They decided to play it at her brother’s house afterwards. They played it in his family room and kept it playing over and over again for hours.

During all that time, her mother sat on the couch and watched the video over and over again. For a number of years her mother has had Alzheimer’s and hasn’t even recognized her own children. But her daughter told me as she watched this her face started to light up. She used music that was all her fathers’ favorites and her mother started moving to the music.

After a while she started recognizing her husband and her children on the screen. By the end of the evening she was telling people, this is my daughter. She was recognizing all her kids. Her daughter said it was amazing how she reacted to the video. It was just for a while, but for them this experience was amazing.

She called me to talk to me about creating her mothers story now. She wants to do this while her mother can still respond to it.

Even now this story is getting me emotional. To know that something I created allowed these kids to have connection with their mother again. That is priceless!

If you would like to reconnect with your family, give us a call (877) 887-8658 or go to our website for more information http://tearsofjoyvideo.com

If you have had a parent with Alzheimer’s, what ways have you used to reconnect with them?

Two sisters, Juli and Cathie Dodd, who were trying to make their father happy started “Tears of Joy Video”. These two sisters had been involved with photography and video for many years. Juli had purchased a full editing suite and they had made some amazing video’s that impressed all their friends. Their father was their biggest fan.

Their father became ill and had to undergo an operation. One evening after the operation, Cathie was sitting with him and watching a TV program. It was a biography about Lucille Ball and Dezi Arnez, with home movies and stories of their life. He asked his daughter if they could make a video of his life like that. She said, it would take a lot of work, but it could be done. A few days later he was suffering from complications from problems after the surgery, and his daughters were worried he wouldn’t make it. Juli asked what could she do to help him get better. He said he would like a video made of his life. She said if he got better, she would make a video of his life, and then they would have a big party with all his friends and watch it. Just saying that seemed to brighten his spirits, it gave him something to look forward to. Within the next few days his health improved, and he was able to recover. But he didn’t let his daughters forget their promise.

Cathie began the project by collecting all the pictures and slides and scanning them to the computer. Then she transferred their old home movies to video. Then she created a list of questions and in a number of video sessions, she sat down with her dad and interviewed him on camera about his life. After that Juli and Cathie made a list of their dad’s best friends, called them and made appointments to interview them on camera with funny stories about their dad’s life. During this whole time Juli was collecting a list of songs that meant something to her dad and to the family over the years. Now with all the data in place, came the project of putting the whole thing together.

As the girls worked on this project, they realized they were not just doing it for their dad; they were creating a piece of family history that they could keep forever. Through the pictures, movies, and interviews they were recreating their life, their memories. They had lost their mother years earlier, but part of her came back in the video, and now with this video, they had a part of their dad they could keep with them forever. They rented a restaurant and had over 100 of his friends and relatives. The film was met with rave reviews. But that moment was a memory they will never forget. They realized that instead of waiting till he was dead to remember him for all he did, they got a special chance to celebrate his life while he could still celebrate it with them. They also got a chance to show him how much they loved and respected him, and that was not only shown to him, but all his friends who attended that night. In fact he was in a room filled with love.

From that video came many more requests from friends for videos. A friend of the sisters, another Julie, who attended that night, was also involved with video montages. Together they discussed starting a business. That is how Tears of Joy Video was born. http://tearsofjoyvideo.com

Tears of Joy Video of Encinitas, California would like to announce their new Celebration of Life Packages. Two sisters, Juli and Cathie Dodd, who have owned the business a little over 7 years, created these packages after helping a number of their clients with their memorial videos.

“At this emotional time of loss many of our clients were overwhelmed with all they had to do in getting ready for the memorial of their loved one, “ said Cathie Dodd. “They would ask if we knew someone who could create the programs, the picture poster, a personalize guest book, or a memorial website. Since we had done this many times for friends and in our own family, we offered to do it for them. They were very happy to have one service where they could give all their photographs and have everything prepared for them. We decided to create a package that would have all these items created for them at one low price.”

Why did they call them the “Celebration of Life” packages? “We were noticing a trend in our clients steering away from the traditional funeral, and instead holding a Celebration of Life memorial service where it focused on the life lived instead of the death” said Cathie Dodd “Our products all are creations that help people focus on this wonderful person by using photographs, video, titles, and stories. The Celebration of Life Package seemed to be the best name for what is being provided”.

Since many people are planning their own memorials or celebrations of life outside the memorial homes or churches, many are looking for creative solutions to make their celebration special. Tears of Joy Video Celebration of Life Packages could be just what you are looking for. They have helped clients in their own backyard of San Diego, as well as throughout the United States. The owners have been through this a number of times and can offer suggestions to help you create the perfect celebration, bringing honor and lasting memories of the loved one who was lost. They are experts at turning your grief into Tears of Joy. Their packages can be found at http://www.tearsofjoyvideo.com/Celebration-of-Life.html or call them toll free at (877) 887-8658.